Friday, October 30, 2015

Egad! permanent commissions for women officers in the Indian Navy!

Not military justice, but . . .

The government is seeking review by the Supreme Court of India of a Delhi High Court decision that requires the Indian Navy to offer women permanent commissions, as is true in other branches of the Indian armed forces. Details here.

Interestingly, the appeal claims that the order would affect the seniority of personnel and their opportunities for promotion in the Navy. But it also believes the order is discriminatory because no male officer who has been recruited under the SSC has been offered permanent commission.

Another contention of the appellants is that the Delhi HC has assumed the role of 'decision maker for the Indian Navy'. The Navy has claimed intrusion into its policies, saying the HC 'nullified its policy without any cogent reason or basis'.

The Delhi HC had observed that since all three arms of the military - Army, Navy and Air Force - come under the government, they cannot have different laws. The Navy opposes this , stating that "there are wide variations between the functions of all three services and each service is given the liberty to choose the policies conducive to meet service-specific standards."